4-story apartment building OK’d

The Sparta Planning Board approved a four-story, 40-unit apartment building at 53A Sparta Ave., behind Burger King, at its meeting June 19.

Robert McNerney, who described the project on behalf of owner Fluss Holdings throughout the application process, told the board in January that the project will have mostly two-bedroom units along with some one-bedroom and three-bedroom units.

Six of the 40 units will be affordable housing.

Building amenities include community rooms, laundry and an outdoor common area.

Each unit will have a covered balcony or terrace.

Also approved were six for-sale condominium units.

During the application process, revisions were made to the outside of the building, with the final design consisting of an ornate facade and mansard roof with dormers. The primary color of the building will be Monterey taupe with white trim.

As a condition of the approval, Fluss Holdings will request and authorize the Sparta Township Board of Education to have school buses come into the parking lot to pick up and drop off school-age children.

All Planning Board members voted for the approval except Christine Dunbar, who abstained.

History of the property

McNerney told the board at an earlier meeting that the property was originally a hotel or motel, known as the Valley View Motor Lodge. It had a swimming pool and other amenities.

Records show it was bult in 1964 and the property was converted into Valley View assisted living in 1987, he said. That went out of business and the buildings were destroyed by a fire. Remaining on the site are foundations of the buildings, the swimming pool and a broken-up paved driveway.

In 2022, the Planning Board approved Captiva Living’s application to build a 70-unit apartment complex on the property. The engineer for Fluss Holdings, Calisto Bertin, told the board earlier this year that he also was the engineer on that project.

He said the layout required extensive site work and excavation and the extra 30 units probably would have cost an additional $3 million to build. That project was never built.